As Black as Clearwater
by PerseusPegasus
Summary: Jacob Black had spent what seemed like forever wishing that Isabella Swan could choose him. What he had not realized is that his true love might be a little 'closer to the pack' than he thought. Based in Breaking Dawn. JacobxLeah.
1. Chapter 1

** Disclaimer ** I do not own The Twilight Saga or any of its characters. All belong to Stephenie Meyer. **

 **Writers comment:** **Just so you know, Jake and Leah won't be jumping on each other from the get go. That just wouldn't make any sense. We are used to the characters that we know and love. I will however be softening the way they feel towards each other in order to bring them closer together faster and to just make the whole process smoother. This is set in Breaking Dawn after Leah joins Seth and Jacob to protect Bella. Bella is still pregnant. About this story well there aren't many Twilight fans left out there and I've thought about writing about this pairing before but never actually made the effort to. I've also noticed a lot of the fanfics today are more about OC's than canon characters. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Anyway... while you are reading this I'll be seeing about a second chapter! ;) Oh yeah :O Don't forget to review as well!**

Rated M for safety.

Spoken conversations will be shown in quotation marks.

Wolf telepathy will be shown in _italics._

 **Jacob's POV:**

I stepped out of the Cullen's house, glad to finally get a decent breath of fresh air. Frequently visiting them to check on Bella somehow made it easier to tolerate the smell. I took in a deep breath of the morning air. It was thickly laced with tree sap, moss, rotting bark and citrus. I took a long stretch before running into the forest. I had to get deep enough into the trees to take my shorts off and tie them to my ankle with the leather chord I kept in my pocket without being too close to the house in case an unfortunate vamp would pass by the window and catch me without any clothes on.

I needed my privacy, but with Edward around, I never had too much. I smirked at the idea that I'd find a way to piss him off. When I was sure that I was deep enough, I pulled my shorts off in one swift motion and just as I was finished with the knot, I let the heat consume me and phased. With these ears, I could hear Leah's quiet, swift footfalls in the distance.

I decided to join her and help tighten the loop, not wanting to give Sam's pack the advantage. It felt weird saying it that way now. Not that I had a pack of my own. _Morning._ , I heard Leah think lazily. She must have just woken up. I didn't feel any sign of Seth's presence. He must have ran through the night, the kid was tough. It didn't take long before I caught Leah's scent. I changed direction and started following it.

 _You had anything to eat_ _yet?_ ,I questioned her. _Nope. I'm not hungry or anything though._ She responded casually. Although she tried to not think about it, I caught her imagining how she would have had breakfast by now if she was home. _Right_ ,I wolf scoffed. I understood why she had been hungry. Running away from home to run in the woods guarding vampires doesn't leave you with too many options.

Especially when you're too proud to accept vampire handouts. Plus, I knew how Leah hated eating raw. Suddenly, an idea came to me. I dug my claws deeper into the dirt to catch up to her. _Hey. You don't have to starve you know. There's perfectly good food over at the_ Cullen's, I thought suggestively. _Like that's gonna happen._ Leah mentally rolled her eyes.

 _Well then. We could go deer hunting. Just imagine tearing all that bloody meat off those bones an-_

 _Okay okay fine! There's no need to make me picture it. You know how much I hate that._ She interrupted, shaking her head as if trying to remove the picture from her mind. I missed a step and almost tripped over a boulder. I didn't expect her to agree so easily. _But you have to go with me,_ she thought smugly. Going back there right after leaving wasn't the first thing on my short list of priorities.

Leah knew that and was probably just doing this on purpose. Whatever. As much as she annoyed me, I'd give her this victory. _Hey! I won fair. Besides, you know I'm better than you oh mighty alpha,_ she laughed to herself. I ignored that.

On my way I found Seth curled up under a tree. I felt guilty but kicked him awake. _Jake?_ , he thought groggily. _Hey kid. Sorry to bother you but I need you to run the perimeter for a bit while we get your sister some grub then when we get back you can crash, okay?_ Seth stood and shook his fur out. Leaves and dust flew everywhere. _Sure Jake!_ , he responded before darting off into the bushes enthusiastically. The joy of me allowing Leah to stay must have still been keeping him happy. I turned my own way and eventually caught up to Leah.

 _Hey Seth?_

 _Yeah?_

 _If you find a sign of the pack or anything else suspicious, howl._

 _Yes, sir!_ Seth thought, and ran even faster to make up for the lost distance that would be there without Leah and I.

We ran until the house was almost in view when Leah suddenly skidded to a stop. I turned my head to face her. _What now?_ , I thought, annoyed. _I don't have any clothes dumbo._ , she struck back. The thought had not come to me. Leah must have left home in a rush and that wouldn't give her time to get a change of clothes. Getting away from Sam was what was important. She had to do it on impulse too. If Sam caught her thinking about escaping, he would probably put Jared in charge of guarding her. Paul had too much of a temper for the job. And the others would probably be unable to keep up. I was the only one that could match Leah's speed after all.

 _Wait here._ , I thought. I took a few steps forward and found shelter under a tree. Standing upright, I balanced against the tree and slowly shifted back to human form. I put my shorts on and began walking towards the house. _Leah needs clothes. Help her._ Edward could read my mind so I thought things could go faster if I warned them in advance.

When the house came into view I noticed a figure standing by the window. Edward. He motioned down towards the porch and disappeared back into the house. I looked down and noticed a basket. With eight long strides I picked it up and found a dress in it. I didn't know too much about Leah but I did know that she wasn't the biggest fan of dresses. I laughed at the thought of her wearing it. After taking a short walk back to where I last was, I put the basket down in front of her and walked back to the porch to wait.

After a series of strange banging sounds and ruffling of leaves, Leah came into view. What was a pale white dress was now decorated with several shades of brown and green. I wasn't surprised. She had probably tried beating the vampire smell off that clung to it like crazy.

The dress was just above her knees but she kept trying to pull it down further. I couldn't help but chuckle at her efforts. She rolled her eyes and turned around, ready to leave. ''Okay wait!'', I shouted. ''I promise not to laugh or tell anyone about this.'' I lifted my hands innocently.

She turned back to face me. Besides the tree beat down she gave to the dress, I had to admit that she looked kinda beautiful. I immediately rubbed my eyes and tried to forget. I didn't think about her that way. I only thought about Bella, right?

She raised an eyebrow and walked towards the door before coming to a halt as if there was some invisible barrier in front of her. She put her hand in front of her nose and shook her head. ''You didn't tell me that the bloodsuckers stunk up the place this bad.'', she mumbled. '''You wanna go back? We didn't come here for you to criticize everything.'' I wasn't the biggest fan of these yellow eyed monsters either but it wouldn't pay off to be rude for the time that we would be here. ''Yeah yeah.'', she responded and folded her arms. I lifted my hand to knock and before I could touch the door it swung open.

''Hello Jacob, Leah.'', Esme greeted us with a motherly smile, nodding to the both of us. Her smile went wider when she saw Leah, glad to see that she had accepted her clothes, despite the condition they were in right now. ''Edward told me that you would be needing breakfast. Please come in.'' She led us into a room with a long table. Leah was walking so close to me that our shoulders kept brushing. Almost as if she was ready for Esme to turn around and attack her. I had never seen her that way though. Esme was more of a mother hen than a snarling, blood thirsty vampire.

There were two plates on the table with a huge pile of food. On one plate I noticed two steaks drenched in barbecue sauce, thick cut french fries and onion rings. I didn't bother to look for anything more and headed straight for the table and dug in. This was the best food I could remember having. ''Come on Leah. You've got to try this.'' I tried saying in between chews. It hadn't been until this moment that I knew exactly how hungry I was. Huh.. Werewolf appetite.

I glanced to my left and saw Leah awkwardly standing against the wall. She alternated between looking at me and the food. After what seemed like forever, she finally mustered up enough courage and joined me. We both ate until we were full.

I noticed that Leah had a little mushroom sauce on her lip. ''Uhm.. You've got a little..'' I signaled towards my mouth to show her. She licked her lip but just missed it. ''Did I get it?'', she asked. ''Nope.'' I wiped it off with my thumb and found myself staring into her dark eyes. ''What are you doing?'' she asked and pulled away. She stood up so fast that her chair nearly flew back. I shook my head and found myself unable to come up with any words.

 **Leah's POV:**

Leah Clearwater eating at Dracula's table.. I thought to myself, laughing at the thought. What would the pack think? I frowned. I wasn't really feeling like myself these days. And why was Jake looking at me like that earlier? Was it that weird seeing me in different clothes? Before I could try thinking any further I felt a warm finger run past my lip. I looked up and noticed that he was staring at me.

I just felt so free to be away from Sam. Things were just so much easier here with Jake. I was getting lost in his brown eyes. For a moment I wished he could wipe Sam out of my mind as easily as he wiped what was on my lip clean, and for a moment he did. I drew back as fast as I could. I had enough werewolf in my life. It wasn't like I could imprint or anything. And he wanted Bella. Her name began to annoy me more than ever before.

She had no idea how much she was hurting Jacob and how selfish it was of her to keep him near her knowing that she didn't intend to choose him. Why couldn't he obsess over someone single? Someone who could love him back? I brought myself to reality. ''What are you doing?'', I asked him accusingly. Maybe if I could change the subject I could get him to forget how I was looking at him.

His face went blank. ''I... uh.. uhm.. I'm sorr-'' before he could get the rest of his sentence out, a howl pierced the morning air. Without hesitation, we ran out the door. Jake had barely touched the edge of the trees before he phased mid air, tearing his shorts to shreds. I tried consoling myself. If the pack was coming, chances are the would fight Jacob or me, not my kid brother.

Not wanting to make the same mistake, I took the annoying dress off but in my rush I heard a tear. Argh. I'd deal with that later. Not wanting to be outdone, I took a jump and phased. As soon as my paws struck the ground, I took off like lightning. Following the direction of the howl. Now that dad wasn't here it was my responsibility to take care of him. We were just too much for mom.

 _Seth! Wait!_ , clearly Jacob was worried about his safety too. _It's okay. I hear paws. Three.. No. Four wolves._ Seth decided confidently. Even if I made it on time. Three against four. I didn't like those odds. But where was the rest of the pack. Suddenly Seth froze. _That scent._ He thought. _Vampire._ Jacob completed. I ran faster catching up to Jake. We didn't care about who was faster right now. We just wanted to get to him before whatever was out there did.

 **Well! That was the first chapter !:D Once again please do read and review. Suggestions are welcome so please feel free to tell me if you have anything in mind to happen next or maybe if you want to predict what's coming. Leah and Jake will definitely be getting a lot closer in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Writers comment:** aaand here's the second chapter as promised! Leah and Jacob are beginning to understand their feelings for each other now. Thanks for reading in advance and do enjoy. I'd love for you to review as well. If you really like the story then please do favorite it and if you want to carry on reading it, don't hesitate to follow and put it on your alerts! Here we go. :)

 **Jacobs POV**

I heard Leah catching up to me. As much as Seth was in danger, I was glad that something was there to break the awkward moment we had just seconds earlier. Leah's mind went from frantic, to empty. She was focusing on the task at hand. I decided to get my head in the game too. Looking into Seth's thoughts I saw a vampire headed straight for him. Just before impact, his mind went into unconsciousness.

 _Seth! No!_ I heard Leah shout mentally. I was running but my legs wanted to give in. It was my fault for allowing Seth to stay. And I would never forgive myself for it. I guessed Leah wouldn't either. As if given a boost of adrenaline, Leah blew to an even faster sprint. I hadn't seen a werewolf run that fast before. She dashed ahead and disappeared into the trees in front of me.

Before long we found him laying motionless on the ground. Leah pulled her head back and howled. It was a sign of grief. But I heard an all too familiar thump. Seth's heart was still beating. _Leah! Leah he's alive!_ So I could have concluded one thing. Seth wasn't dead. But where was the leech that was supposed to kill him? I searched through the trees, using all the power I had in my wolf ears.

Leah still couldn't believe her brother was alive and was nudging his unconscious body with her muzzle. Probably checking him for any bite marks. Vamp venom was lethal to us werewolves. I heard a silent shimmer a few yards ahead. _Someone's_ phasing? Leah thought. _Yeah._

Jared appeared from the trees in human form, arms raised. Paul, Quil and Embry came up behind him in wolf form. Seth was stirring back to consciousness so Leah came up to my left. ''Hey Jake.'' Jared said calmly. ''We just wanna talk.'' He dropped his hands. ''You gotta come back man. Sam is sorry for acting so quickly. We miss you. Embry misses you.'' Embry whined behind him in agreement.

 _Ha! Yeah right. Of course Sam changed his mind._ Leah thought.

 _You don't think Sam sent him?_

 _Sam obviously sent him. But he knows that he can't take on us and the leeches together. Especially when we're expecting him to attack. Now he's sent the one guy in the pack who you always got along with to convince you to go back. Smart. But predictable._

I thought about that. He was thinking that maybe Embry could get my sympathy and we'd all just come back home.

Jared looked at Leah and I, noticing that we were having a conversation that he could not hear. ''What does Leah think?'' Jared asked. I huffed and looked at Leah. _Leah. Go for a run around the perimeter and make sure this isn't a trap._ She growled at Jared before disappearing into the trees. I sat back on my haunches and phased back, not bothering to hide my nakedness. This was just a part of pack life.

''Good to see ya Jake.'' Jared smiled. ''I tried convincing Leah and Seth to go back home. Trust me.'' I said. Trying to avoid a lecture. ''Sam made his choice already. There's no fixing that. I'm staying here and protecting Bella. And if Seth and Leah wanna stay here for a while then that's their choice.'' I concluded. ''So you're just gonna stay here and become a bloodsucker lap dog? That's low Jake.'' Jared responded.

Seth, seeming fully recovered stood and bared his teeth and Jared after he said 'lap dog'. Jared seemed surprised to see Seth so brave all of a sudden. ''Easy Seth.'' I said as he approached me to settle on my right. ''If that's what it takes to protect Bella.'' I shrugged. ''Our job is to protect humans remember?'' I questioned looking at Embry. He lowered his head, seemingly in shame.

''Well I'm sorry, Jake. Sam ordered us to bring you back. Even if we have to drag you.'' Paul took one paw towards me, crushing the leaves beneath him but I wasn't about to take that. I phased back and stood firm, ready for any challenge.

 _Leah. I need you to get back. Now!_

 _Already on it._ Leah was on her way back. But there was no telling if she would make it back on time.

Suddenly I heard a voice appear in my head. _Jared. I can't do this..._ Embry trotted away from Jared's side to join me on my left. It was four on three now. Although Seth was small, even Paul wouldn't be stupid enough to risk that fight. I could take Paul. Embry could take Jared and Leah and Seth could gang up on Quil. Sam would regret not sending enough wolves. Most of all, he would regret sending Embry with his diplomatic party.

Leah exploded out of the bushes kicking soil up, paused to notice Embry, then approached me to push Embry out of the way in order to be closer to me. _Great. I'm an alpha's third below Seth and Leah._ Embry thought sarcastically. _And I'm second in command._ Seth answered with a wolf grin.

''Hey. We don't want a fight.'' Jared said in a calmer voice, analsing the change of events. ''Leah. Sam needs you back. There's nothing here for you.'' Leah rubbed her head against my shoulder and looked back at Jared. He raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what that meant. So was I. ''Alright then. I'll let Sam know.'' Jared said halfheartedly and walked back into the trees with Quil and Paul.

I huffed again. This time in relief. _Well I'm glad that's over._ Seth thought. _Embry. Fill me in. What happened?_ I directed at Embry.

 _Well Sam didn't want to attack anymore. Lost the element of surprise, ya know? So it's been nothing but patrol for us. Without the three of you Sam's had us overworked. Anyway, we came across the scent of a blood drinker on our lands. We assumed the treaty was broken because of the... er.. problem. So we chased it down all the way here. It bumped into Seth and knocked him out. But Seth slowed it down enough for us to chase and kill it. Then we found you guys._

I listened as Embry explained. I thought we were just close enough for Edward to hear the entire altercation. So Sam wasn't an immediate threat. Check. But what about the monster that was tearing Bells up from the inside. _Now that those cowards are gone, I'm going to run the perimeter._ Leah thought. Sounding almost annoyed. Well that wasn't new. For Leah at least.

 _Wait Leah. We need to talk. Seth, catch up on some sleep over at the Cullen's. You've been interrupted enough and you've had one heck of a day. You need a bed._ Seth didn't hesitate and ran straight away. _Embry, start patrolling the perimeter. You're with us for now._ He nodded and took off in the opposite direction. Looking for the scent trail we had left from constantly running the loop.

 _What do you want?_ Leah thought. _C'mon. Let's get back. I need to speak to you._ _Alone._ I responded. Mustering up some courage.

We got back near the house and she put her dress back on. There were new clothes on the porch. A light blue T-shirt and shorts that appeared to be a lot more expensive than what I threw on every day. They must have been Emmett's. It was my turn to beat the clothes against a tree. The shirt was a little tight but besides that, they fit just fine.

I found Leah and we walked towards the river and saw a decent rock to sit on. ''Uh. Leah? Earlier when Jared asked about you not having anything here for you. What was that?'' I asked curiously. ''I don't know. I guess I just feel more alive here in your pack Jacob. With you.'' she sighed. I felt some part of me warm up when she said that but I didn't want to give myself any ideas. I already loved one girl that still loved someone else.

''Yeah? Sam huh? Well he never did deserve you, you know.'' I whispered. Trying to comfort her. Her eyes were getting all glassy. I had never imagined Leah to be much of a person to cry. Almost on impulse, I pulled her face down to my chest and put my arms around her to let her cry without having to feel embarrassed.

Her breathing began to go shallow and I knew that she was asleep. ''You deserve better, Leah. You deserve me.'' I planted a soft kiss on her forehead as she drifted off.

 **That's all for the second chapter. I already have so many ideas flowing that I can't pick! But that doesn't mean I'm not open to any reader suggestions. So if you have anything to add to the plot or you'd just like to add a comment on whether you're enjoying it or not, please hit the review button. :) Thank you xD!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Writers comment:** You thought I forgot to update didn't you! :O Well if you did, you were right... haha I'm only joking. Jacob and Leah need to get over their denial right :-/ ... and so they do. Here's chapter 3 folks!

 **Leah's POV**

Jake had his arms around me and for once I felt like I didn't have to put a wall up anymore. I could be myself, something more than the alpha's ex girlfriend. I had spent such a long time trying to protect myself from getting hurt again that I forgot what it was like to feel completely safe. That's how I felt. Wolf telepathy made it difficult to have some privacy in your mind. And I could always feel Sam searching my thoughts... the pity he had. I felt everything. But I didn't want his pity.

I was the one who had to spend every other day seeing him think about Emily. To make matters worse, everyone was starting to imprint now. Quil on Claire, Jared on Kim, even Paul on Rachel, Jake's sister. It was annoying to watch, but I couldn't help but envy them. If I could imprint, maybe I could forget about Sam. I'd take anything over that.

Before I knew it I felt a heavy weight on my eyelids and I was gone...

I was dreaming about the day those leeches made us help them fight the baby bloodsuckers in the clearing. Their corpses were piled up and burning with a smell way worse than what I was expecting. We thought we had them all when one appeared from the bushes. Bloodlust was evident in its crimson eyes. There was one thought on my mind: mine.

I lunged and sunk my teeth into its shoulder. This wouldn't work. I loosened my jaws to get a better grip but it was fast. Soon after realizing that it had an opening to escape, it wrapped it arms around my neck. I wanted to fight back but I didn't. This might have been my chance. My chance to leave this stupid world. I waited for the snap to come that would end me.

Then a force like a rocket knocked me over. As I stood to find my bearings, I noticed Jacob was as close to death as I had been just seconds before. Granite arms wrapped around his chest and squeezed with ease, snapping several bones. He yelped in agony and was released. That's when Sam and the rest of the pack arrived to finish the pale creature off.

We rushed off to phase and get our clothes. I hated Jacob. He ruined my perfect opportunity. Not that he knew what I was planning but I was ready. I would never have the courage to do it myself. We then found Jake on the floor with his mouth open screaming in silent agony. ''Jacob you idiot. I had it!'' I shouted, unable to hold it in anymore. A blond vampire kneeled at his side. Next to him was the girl that was the cause of this. I didn't know why I resented her for indirectly being responsible for hurting Jake.

That's when something that wasn't a part of my memory came in. He looked up and me and whispered into my ear. ''You deserve better than him. You deserve me.''

I blinked and found myself awake again on someone's warm lap. I lifted my head to rub my eyes. ''Jeez Jake. How long have I been out?'' I asked. Wondering why he didn't wake me. ''About two hours.'' he shrugged. There was an uncomfortable tightness in my back so I stood and stretched and he stood with me. ''Why didn't you wake me up Embry just got here and he's already a slave I'm sorry for falling asleep on you.'' I blurted out uncontrollably all in one sentence, blushing a little.

Why was I apologizing again? Leah Clearwater does not apologize, or blush! ''Slow down Leah.'' he chuckled. ''Embry can handle it. Besides, we're about to go help him out anyway. It should be easier with four of us now. We can expand the perimeter. And about falling asleep on me, it's not your fault. I mean I am good bed material after all.'' he stated with a proud grin, which changed to a nervous face, then he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

I folded my arms and suppressed a smile. ''Uh.. that came out the wrong way. I was jus- just uh.. uhm... Hey is it hot out here? Oh yeah we're werewolves so we don't really get hot or cold but yeah you know what I mean. I'm not trying to say I'm hot in that way but I am but I-'' I decided that I was punishing him enough and playfully slapped his shoulder, finally deciding that I had to laugh.

''Oh you think that's funny huh? I'll show you funny.'' he said as he started tickling me. ''Jake... no! Please... stop!'' I tried getting out in between breaths. It felt good to be genuinely happy for once. He stopped tickling me and looked into my eyes. We were the same temperature but I could feel the heat radiating off of his body. Maybe I hadn't realized it because I never usually stood too close to him but he was much taller. He was definitely looking down at me now. Like a big muscle tower.

He put his arms on my waist and pulled me closer. I raised mine and put them around his neck. It seemed like it was taking hours as we drew closer inch by inch. I had to stand a little taller on my tip-toes to reach. Then his lips gently brushed against mine. Nothing else mattered to me right now. I just had to kiss him. Though I could tell that something was making him hesitate.

''But Bella-''

''Isn't here...'' I completed.

''She-''

''Feels nothing for you.'' I interjected. ''Jake.. you can't spend forever waiting for someone that will never come.'' I whispered. Our lips were close enough to gently dance against each other as we spoke. He sighed and pulled away. I turned around ready to run. Run away from all of this. I wasn't going to compete with... her. And I wasn't about to make him choose. We didn't even know what we were doing right now. Maybe he was just upset about his rejection and needed someone to make him forget for a while. Like a drug used at night only to be thrown out in the morning.

No. I wasn't going to wait. I wasn't going to watch this happen all over again. I was about to take a step forward when I felt a warm arm tightly grab my wrist and pull me back. I wanted to hate him, but I clearly wasn't the Leah I thought I knew. Our lips finally collided. It was like electricity flowing through my veins. I gently bit his lip and he pinned me against a tree. We were disturbed by the sound of footsteps crushing leaves. I pushed him back to find my brother standing there with his mouth forming a perfect 'O'.

 **Wow I don't know if the chapters are getting longer or shorter... I suppose it's the content that counts. I'm having loads of fun writing this fic and I don't think I'll be abandoning it. Leah and Jake just seem to connect on so many levels. This chapter was just to calm things down from the drama in the previous chapters buuttt... I love my drama so loads more is on the way. I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I'm enjoying writing. I like reading myself and get really frustrated when chapters take forever to be published which is why I won't keep any of you waiting. Thanks to Karisan-karisan, xXElite WolfXx and brankel1 for keeping me inspired to write :D Once again if you have any comments go ahead and review, and for a reminder when the next chapter is published put the story on alert. Thank you all! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Writer's comment:** Here is yet another chapter which I owe you. Signed and delivered! :)

 **Jacob's POV**

Leah pushed me back and I looked around to find the source of the sound only to see Seth standing behind me. Clearly traumatized. He quickly shook his head and cleared his throat with a small frown forming between his eyebrows. ''Uhm. Edward said I should look for you, Jake. He's waiting for you on the porch.'' He said awkwardly. ''Right. Hey Leah? You wanna join Embry for now? I'm sure he's getting a little lonely.'' I said, turning my head back to face her.

She glanced at her brother before turning and disappearing into the woods. ''You should still be sleeping, Seth. But if you're already good then I think you can join Embry too. Tell them it's okay to widen the perimeter.'' Seth followed right on Leah's heels without hesitation. Clearly looking for answers from her.

I walked back to find Edward sitting by the door. He looked thoughtful but worried about Bella. He knew that she wouldn't survive giving birth. Not to that monster that was already eating her from the inside. She may have been getting better from the blood she was drinking but was that enough? ''If you would just take that parasite that's draining the life out of her out, then maybe you wouldn't have so many things to worry about.'' I spit. He looked down and frowned.

''I know, Jacob.'' I blinked. I didn't expect him to agree with me. ''But it's not just Bella that wants to keep... it. Rose and Esme agree with her. And Emmett and Jaz won't let us hold them down.'' he shrugged. ''Chances are that her heart won't make it through.''

I sighed and decided to sit on the opposite side of the door. ''So why did you call me here?'' I asked, deciding to forget about Bella for a sec. I had someone else on my mind for now. Edward smiled at that thought. I was still her werewolf best friend that would tear him to shreds if she died. His smile slowly faded. ''Maybe I'll deserve to die after that. But that's not why I called you.'' He reached behind the door to grab a basket similar to the one I'd taken for Leah.

''Earlier, when you were speaking to the pack, I was giving the others a play-by-play so to speak. And the matter of clothes and a home came up. Esme suggested that it wouldn't be right to have you all here protecting our family problem while having to consider yourself homeless. We have human food here. And beds. You're welcome to any of them. About clothes, I heard you thinking about Leah not being the 'biggest fan' of dresses. Esme wanted you all to be comfortable so she went shopping for something a little simpler than what Alice brought last time.''

He handed the basket to me. In it was three pairs of shorts and T-shirts for Seth, Embry and I. A tank top and denim shorts were there for Leah too. They smelled a lot better than the clothes we got before. ''We have more inside the house if anything happens to these. Esme tried to touch them as little as possible.'' He said. ''Thanks leech. You might be good for something other than taking the girl I loved.'' I nodded. He laughed at that. ''Keep an ear out. We'll howl if anything goes wrong.'' I mumbled.

I stood and started walking back to the treeline. When was Bella due though? I turned to ask him but he was already gone. Oh well. I dumped the clothes under a tree, stripped off mine and shifted. _Jake! Finally. These two can't shut up._ Embry's voice rang in my head.

Seth and Leah were having a sibling argument. Aww. _But you're not being fair Leah! You catch me with one girl and blow a gasket but you can do whatever you want?_

 _I'm your big sister you idiot! It's my job to do that. As soon as you were born I was automatically assigned as your deputy parent._

I couldn't help but wolf snicker at that. I lengthened my strides. With more of us here there was an almost 0% chance of being surprised by Sam's pack. We could now cover all the way to where the treaty line was. _Seth. Cover the inner perimeter. Leah, Embry and I will go a little farther out._ Seth was the youngest and the smallest. I didn't think he could keep up with us and I didn't want him on the frontlines of a fight. He sulked but did as I said.

We ran out until we couldn't smell our scents anymore and started a new loop. In a few areas I could smell a few fading Cullen scents passing through and back. They were at least five weeks old though. Leah was also enjoying getting some wind in her face now. We finally got to run full speed. _Speaking about full speed, I think I beat you back there._ Leah thought menacingly.

 _We've gone over this Lee-lee. I'm way faster._ I corrected.

 _Fine. Let's race then. Whoever gets to the treaty border line first, wins._

 _C'mon guys. Really?_ Embry thought, irritated.

Without warning, Leah went full speed, straight towards the finish line. I wasn't about to be beaten. I dug my claws deeper into the dirt and allowed them to launch me forward. I could tell by where she was in the forest that she was in the same general area as I was. We were tied. When we were less than a mile from the finish line, I spotted her silver fur a few yards to my left.

When our muzzles were just a few inches from crossing the invisible line, I noticed Collin and Brady standing like sentinels. I lost concentration on the race to focus on them. Why would Sam send the two newest pack members on patrol together. They were clueless. Suddenly realization hit me. _Seth! Howl! Warn Edward. The pack is coming._ Our race had caused a small gap behind us. But that's all Sam would need.

Leah and I were turning to run back when Collin and Brady attacked us. We shook them off with ease yet that didn't matter. Every second counted. We ran back not racing against each other, but racing to save lives. We arrived to the sound of growling and tearing. Seth was facing Quil, Embry was facing Jared, Sam had Carlisle down on the floor while Esme and Alice were trying to hold him back. Paul was fighting with Emmett and Jasper who were taunting him from a tree. But Edward and blondie weren't in plain sight. Were they dead? Where was Bella? Leah went to help her brother.

Then a felt a fire begin to stir up in me. I was the one meant to truly lead the pack, but I had resisted the longing to. My lips pulled back and I ripped out a snarl loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the battle. There was stillness and silence now. I walked past every pack member, asserting my authority and they all lowered their heads as I passed them. I didn't like doing this, making them submit. But I had to. Not only for the safety of the entire pack, but Bella too.

Everyone's mind in the pack was connected again. When I reached the last wolf, Sam. He stood and stared at me with dark eyes. I stood a few inches taller than him in wolf form now. _Are you going to fight against your alpha, Jacob? Protect these blood drinkers? When that creature is born it will wreak havoc on Forks. We don't know what it_ _is._ Sam thought.

''Actually, we do.'' Edward retorted, with the missing blonde ice queen next to him. She held a baby in her arms. Those little brown eyes moved to face me, and my mind was soon filled with the same feeling brought up by Sam on Emily, Quil on Claire, and Paul on Rachel.

 **Oooh. Tension :O. I'll be finishing up the next chapter tonight and I hope you're having a good read. Don't hesitate dropping a review if you feel the slightest urge to. Thank** you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Writers comment:** I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. I was caught up in uni and work and I just had so many commitments. I know this might not be the longest chapter but it's something. Like I said, I won't abandon this story and I think I can still get several more chapters out of it. I'm not one to abandon. Sorry if it seems a little rushed and if there's any poor editing. I just wanted to get this out ASAP. Anyway here you go. Please do read and review!

 **Jacob's POV**

My mind was filled with the familiar feeling I knew all too well from pack life. Someone had imprinted. Seth. I took a closer look at the baby. Yep. Brown eyes. Rosy cheeks too. This baby was definitely not a vamp. Edward stood wide mouthed and the pack were shifting on their paws, not sure what to do with the new information. I decided to be the one to make a move first.

I looked back at Sam. _There is no crime here, Sam. Even if there was, Seth imprinted. You know the law._ I said sternly in my head. Sam huffed and took two steps back. The Cullens, apart from Edward, looked confused so I quickly ran behind the treeline and shifted. It seemed like hours before I could get my shorts back on. As I came back into view everyone looked at me like they were expecting something. I rolled my eyes. ''Seth imprinted.'' They still looked confused. I nodded my head in the baby's direction. ''Our most absolute law is that whoever a wolf imprints on can't be harmed.'' I elaborated. But where was Bella? I was beginning to get nervous. Edward had the same pained expression on his face when I looked at him. So that was it wasn't it? She was gone. My vision began to get blurry and a tear ran down my cheek.

''Not gone.'' Edward mumbled. ''She's... in the process of becoming one of us.'' I breathed a sigh of relief. The pack, seeming to not want to get involved and happy to still have their lives, ran into the darkness, leaving Leah and Seth behind. ''I left some clothes nearby for you'', I said to Leah and Seth, not bothering to turn to face them. As they both went looking for the clothes, the rest of the Cullens walked back into the house, each couple looking concerned about each other.

With the danger gone, I realized that I would have to talk to Leah soon. She came up from behind me fully dressed. She had a weird look on her face, like she was trying to decide something before putting her arms around me. She wiped the tear off and kissed the spot where it was. Hmm. Leah trying to comfort someone. I could get used to this. ''Where is she? I asked Edward who was the only Cullen left outside. He was staring at the ground. ''Follow me.'' He answered coldly and cleared his throat. It was a short walk to the room where Bella was. It took a moment for me to notice that Leah and I were holding hands.

Bella was laying lifeless on the bed. This was the room that had the whole hospital setup. Almost everything was covered in blood but Esme and Carlisle were cleaning it up. Edward took a seat next to Bella's bed and held her hand to his face. She had bite marks all over her body. I shivered at the sight and Leah squeezed my hand. Seth's voice broke the silence. ''I know this isn't really a great time, Ed. But do you know where Rosalie is?'' I half smiled, knowing that it wasn't blondie that he was looking for.

''Kitchen.'' Edward replied. Without asking any more questions Seth left. ''Will she make it?'' I asked him. He just nodded in response. It must have been hard for him to see Bella like this. The only question was why wasn't it so hard for me? ''Sure. Uh Leah? We need to talk.'' She nodded.

We found another room which was unoccupied, clearly the guest bedroom. Both of us took our time and sat on the bed still holding hands. It clearly didn't bother us that anyone could hear. ''About today, I don't know what happened and I don't really know why. Things have been really stressful for both of us lately and I've only ever had feelings for Bella... only now I'm not so sure anymore.'' Leah nodded. ''What I'm trying to say is... I think I like someone a little different now.'' Leah was smiling and I had to look at her lips which were so inviting right now. I leaned in but she put her finger on my lip and pushed me back giggling. ''Don't you wanna ask me something Jacob Black?'' She was beaming now. I couldn't help but laugh too. ''Hmm. Do you wanna go out with me, Leah Clearwater?'' I asked nervously. It was her turn to lean in now. ''I've been waiting to hear you say that.'' Our lips met for the second time.

For once I wasn't thinking about Bella. I was fully here. In the moment. It felt so much better knowing that I wouldn't have to share her. I wouldn't have to compete with anyone anymore. She was mine. ''My Lee-lee.'' I managed to get out after our lips finally separated. We leaned back onto the bed and she put her head on my chest. ''I love the sound of your heartbeat.'' She whispered before we both drifted off to sleep.

 **And there goes another chapter. I hope you're still enjoying the story. I don't write based on reviews so you can be sure that I will still be writing. That doesn't mean that I don't like hearing from you though. :)**


End file.
